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Road tolls, fees 'on the menu'

By Daniel GirardUrban Affairs Reporter

Thu., July 17, 2008

Already feeling the sting of soaring gas prices, GTA residents face the prospect of digging deeper for everything from road tolls and a regional sales tax, to parking at the mall or their suburban office lot.

And, while clearly "very controversial," the consensus at a forum on regional transit infrastructure yesterday was that politicians and the public must at least be ready to ponder such initiatives in an effort to ease congestion.

"These are the kinds of things that are on the menu that we are going to have to seriously talk about," said Paul Bedford, former chief planner for the City of Toronto and current board member of Metrolinx, the regional transit planning body.

While stressing that he was not talking on behalf of Metrolinx, Bedford nonetheless told 150 people at The National Club on Bay St. he was "setting the table" for public discussion this fall, after the agency releases its plan for regional transit projects – and how to pay for them.

In April, Metrolinx detailed a series of scenarios for reducing car use, in the latest stage of developing a regional transportation plan. The most ambitious vision would cost $90 billion over 25 years.

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Queen's Park already has pledged $11.5 billion to be spent on 50 or so regional projects to expand subway, streetcar, light rail and bus services by 2020.

Calling that commitment "just a start," Bedford said the $90 billion is not only affordable, it's necessary.

"If we don't do this," he said, "we will be in very bad shape."

Noting the gap between need and resources, Bedford called for "intelligent public dialogue" on a host of financing options: a 10 cents per kilometre toll on GTA expressways; a $1 fee each weekday on non-residential parking spaces; a 20 cent per litre gas tax; a 1 per cent regional sales tax and more government subsidies.

Such initiatives, which Bedford explained could each net about $1 billion a year, would no doubt ignite a vigorous debate.

Any talk of tolls or taxes on gas or retail sales always raises the ire of drivers and the political sensitivities of elected officials.

Both Premier Dalton McGuinty and Transportation Minister Jim Bradley said in February they didn't support tolls on expressways and 400-series highways in the GTA, after a blue-ribbon panel on Toronto finances said such a move could raise $700 million to improve transit.

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Bedford admitted the potential for "a public revolt" if and when these suggestions come forward, because "have you ever met people who want to pay more tax?"

"Probably not," he said. "But, the fact is, we're going to have to bite that bullet."

Toronto Mayor David Miller, who commissioned that panel, has said he thinks the toll concept merits "very serious consideration."

And two of his city council colleagues echoed those sentiments at yesterday's forum, organized by Global Public Affairs.

TTC chair Adam Giambrone said "there is an appetite to consider some of those" taxes and fees but it's "unlikely" that they would be used to come up with all of the money needed to build, operate and maintain new public transit projects. People may be willing to pay more but need to see results, he added.

"We should be thinking big, very bold, out there on a 30- to 40-year plan. And then we need nice, bite-sized chunks that we could actually see that it's happening and build public confidence," Giambrone said. "That keeps momentum going."

Councillor Karen Stintz said she senses a willingness among voters to discuss these initiatives because "people are wrapping their head around that they're going to have to fund the system."

But, she said, there's too much focus on "making driving less attractive than making the better way more attractive."

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